Log: week 31 / 2018
Breezy drama that prefers to see itself categorized as a comedy. It draws on light-hearted and summery vibes, but underneath there's a proper drama. Not a very good one mind. It's all a bit cliché, predictable and sentimental, but at least the pacing is fine and it's not all that offensive.
Absolutely cheesy. If you can handle the bad acting, the corny effects and the school theater-like decors, then I'm sure there is plenty to enjoy here. Apart from wanting to find out how much worse it could actually get, there was little to keep me engaged though. Cult for sure, but not the good kind.
Documentary about one the biggest reenactment events in Europe: the Battle of Waterloo. The event itself is somewhat of a bore, but the passion of the people participating is interesting, especially when factions start to form and discussions erupt on who gets to play Napoleon. A smart doc.
Herman Yau went to Malaysia for this one. An outbreak film with crime elements that lashes out at the medical sector in typical Yau fashion. The genre elements aren't that convincing though and the production feels a little too slick at times, but overall it's an enjoyable and fun film.
Remarkable film about some shady figures in a small, rural Taiwanese town. The poor wander about while the powerful behave like petty criminals. Bit of a mishmash of genres, with thriller, crime, drama and comedy elements floating through the film, but never working against each other.
Pretty decent and fun thriller with just the slightest hint of horror influences. Things inevitably go downhill once the bad guy starts to show some cracks though. Even so, there are some pretty tense and moody scenes, I just wished the film had a better, more appropriate ending.
Weird and outlandish Japanese comedy, the kind Fukuda is good at. Strong manga influences, wacky characters and a combination of absurd comedy and dry delivery make this a very funny and pleasant watch. It doesn't make any sense and it looks a bit cheap at times, but lots of fun nonetheless.
One of the best things Spielberg has done. Lots of the charm comes from Mark Rylance's voice work and the giant's quirky dialogue. Barnhill is annoying though and the whole episode with the queen isn't very interesting. Still, some nice bits to be enjoyed, just not enough for 2 hours of film.
Theoretically a glorified tech demo, but one that works wonders as a stand-alone film. Blood: The Last Vampire looks great, there's some stellar action and few scenes grew out to become landmarks in the anime niche. A must see, though the short runtime might work against it for some.
Shlocky horror flick about a killer clown on the loose while everyone is out celebrating Halloween. A couple of filters give the film a more oldskool look and there are one or two pleasantly gruesome scenes, but they can't hide the film's low-budget origins, nor the director's and cast's lack of talent.
Sometimes less is more, something very little is just very little. With only a thousand pounds to spend, Popov and Russell do their utmost best to keep the film engaging, sadly it's not quite enough. There are moments that show potential, but overall it's just too cheap to be successful.
The mother of all stoner comedies. Not really my kind of comedy though, this film did very little to change that. It's little more than a couple of simple and boring weed jokes and two goofy-but-not-so-funny characters who barge from one place to the next. I don't think I'll ever really get the appeal.
Fun and quirky horror comedy. Take some goofy characters, ship them off to an abandoned mansion and release a killer. The direction is right on point, the actors are pretty solid and the comedy is actually funny. Datis has talent, wouldn't be surprised is his 2nd one ends up a modest masterpiece.
So the Lego dudes built a house and decided to make a documentary about just that. The doc is not really about the house though, it's about pride and quality, it's about branding and selling products through lifestyle. It's really just a 47 minute advert with a minimum of extra meat. Poor.
Might just be the best one in the franchise. The humor is pretty cringeworthy though and it gets a bit dull when too much time is spent on the plot, but the action scenes are pretty spectacular and Ferguson is an interesting addition to the cast. It's decent enough filler, but that's all it is really.